How Much Should You Save for Retirement? Orman, Ramsey and Other Financial Gurus Answer

Retirement savings can seem like a very complicated matter. But some of the most well-known and respected financial minds like Suze Orman, David Ramsay and others say it’s really not that hard. The difficult part is the saving; sorting out how much to save is simple.

Saving for retirement doesn’t have to be difficult.

The younger you begin, the easier retirement saving will be. A smaller amount put aside beginning at a young age will pinch less on payday, and it will add up to a lot more once you’re ready to exit the workforce.

Here is some workable advice from four financial gurus, and it’s basic enough for anyone to start putting into action now:

Suze Orman Offers a How Much Should You Save for Retirement Formula

Suze Orman retirement advice for how much you should save makes things personal. In a video Huffington Post she points out that the amount you need will differ from what someone else needs.

So instead of a magic number, she suggests that you use a formula that will help you find YOUR magic number. She recommends calculating your monthly living expenses, then multiplying that amount by 12 to find how much you need per year. Use that number as your basis for what to save.

If your yearly expenses are $50,000, you don’t need to multiply that by the number of years you anticipate living. She says you should save and invest enough to generate $50,000 annually in interest, leaving the principal intact and secure for the duration of your retirement.

(Of course there are actually 100s of numbers that should go into figuring out a more reliable estimate of how much you need. Use the award winning NewRetirement retirement planning calculator to get a more comprehensive estimate.)

Robert Kiyosaki: Redefine the Meaning of Nest Egg

Robert T. Kiyosaki is the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” one of the best selling personal finance books of all time. His advice for retirees — or anyone — is all about creating income.

On the question of how much should you save for retirement, he says, “To know how large of a savings ‘nest-egg’ you’ll need, you’ll need to know three things: How long will you live? How will inflation increase? What will the various markets do? These answers are impossible to know. You are gambling with your future.

“If you change your definition of ‘nest-egg’ to mean a pile of cash-flowing assets, rather than cash, your problem is solved.”

You can explore some ideas for passive income streams.

David Bach Says You Only Need to Save $2 a Day

David Bach is another best selling author. He wrote “The Automatic Millionaire” and the “Finish Rich” series of books.

Easy to digest financial advice he is known for includes:

Pay yourself first — the idea of prioritizing retirement savings over other spending and to automate those savings.

The latte factor — cutting small expenses to get big savings.

Save 20% of your income.

This is all good advice — especially if you are relatively young and still have time to reap the benefits of compound interest and years and years of saving.

In his book, “Start Late. Finish Rich,” Bach offers more targeted advice for people in their 40s, 50s and even 60s. He knows that you probably need a lot of money for retirement and that the large goal can feel insurmountable. However, he encourages people to start small and save something. Back likens retirement saving to preparing for a marathon. You don’t go run 26 miles on your first training day. You don’t sit home on the couch either. If you should be saving $2,000 a month, just start by saving $2 a day.

Dave Ramsey Shares His Ideas for How Much Should You Save for Retirement

Being debt free at retirement is a worthy, if lofty, goal. But financial guru, Dave Ramsey, has a plan that many people have used successfully. It’s from that debt-free foundation that his advice springs.

Ramsey recommends investing 15 percent out of every paycheck into a Roth IRA and pre-tax retirement accounts.

Life happens, and you might not always have the ability to save 15 percent for the long haul. But Ramsey reminds that on a $70,000 2-income household, saving 12 percent on average will yield $1.6 million by the time retirement rolls around.

The younger you start saving, the easier it will be.

Ben Stein Recommends Estimating High for How Much You Should Save for Retirement

Ben Stein is as familiar for his acting as his status as a well-respected economist. And in a video hosted at iGrad, he talks about taking responsibility. Some people are fortunate enough to have a pension that will carry through retirement, but most people aren’t. And although he predicts that Social Security will still be around for a long time, it only covers about 35 percent of what the average family needs.

Stein says generally, most people will need to have saved 80 percent of their annual pre-retirement income to live on every year after retirement. Only big expense that won’t be there will be saving for retirement. Considering life expectancy, this could total 16 to 20 times your annual income.

There’s a lot that goes into determining how much you need to save for retirement. But there’s yet another way to help clarify it. Using the retirement calculator at New Retirement is fast and it’s easy. Best of all, it gives you a clear picture of where you are now, and what you need to do.

You don’t have to be a financial wizard to save enough for retirement. You just need a plan, and the commitment to put it into action.